HARRY II
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of this fan-fiction expect for the characters that I have created to fit the requirements of my story and even then I do not intend to use any of it for any financial or material profit.
A/N: First things first, Happy Christmas everyone! And thank you to all those 100+ people that have further followed the story since it was last updated. I truly thank you all. Also, I'm really sorry about the delay. My mother was a bit unwell these past few days, so I was a little occupied with looking after her. This one is largely going to be a chapter that will help move the story along to the next phase. That said, I hope you like this new chapter.
Happy reading!
madcrazystoryteller
- SECTION BREAK -
"Hello, I'm Harry. Harry Potter. I'm here to meet Alice."
As Harry finished saying those words, he politely extended his hands for a handshake towards the man who for all intents and purposes seemed gobsmacked.
Just as Harry was about to ask the man if he was alright, he heard the voice that he had been so desperate to hear the last few days.
"It's alright Carlisle. Let him in."
The message seemed to bring the man out of his stupor and he extended his hand with an apologetic smile and shook Harry's hand and as Harry returned the handshake with nary a reaction, Carlisle's smile become more genuine, as if he was delighted the way Harry was reacting.
"Please forgive me for my momentary lack of manners. I'm Carlisle Cullen. Please come in."
Saying this he opened the door and politely stepped out of the way, allowing Harry to enter the house.
As Harry entered the house, he thought about how Carlisle's reaction somehow reminded him of Remus, who had been shunned by mostly everyone but his friends, for most of his life, because of something he had no control over.
And while Harry knew that based on his PI's report that Carlisle was very well off financially and was very well respected in Forks, he somehow felt that both Remus and Carlisle, were both so very different and so very same.
Both victims of an unfortunate past, trying their best to do good and at the root of it all, both craved the same thing. Acceptance.
But all of these thoughts flew right out of his head the moment he laid eyes on her.
He knew very well that his view was biased, but by Merlin she looked breathtaking and that was without even trying.
The moment their eyes met though, he couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face and ended up addressing her.
"Hello luv!".
This seemed to momentarily catch her off-guard, before with an exasperated roll of her eyes, she got up and glided over to him with a grace that would have made trained ballerinas weep with envy.
Just as she reached him, he couldn't help but take her in his arms and pull her into a hug, which said much more than what any words could convey as to what he was feeling in that moment.
An action that she seemed to mimic.
It was as if they were in their own world, surrounded by nothing but tranquility.
The peace didn't last for long though.
"What the fuck, Alice?"
The words came from the mouth of the beautiful blonde woman standing across the room from them, that would have made Leonardo Da Vinci drop down to his knees and beg for a chance to paint her portrait and that was saying something considering he was friends with Fleur, an actual real life Veela.
But while all of these thoughts were passing through his mind internally, on the outside he merely looked at Alice with a raised eyebrow, to which she simply nodded and said in a tired voice.
"Harry, meet the family. Everyone, meet Harry Potter, my lawfully wedded husband."
The moment Alice had started speaking, Harry was prepared to move at a moment's notice and was trying to keep everyone in the room in his line of vision.
But before anyone could react, Carlisle raised his hand as if to stop the barrage of the oncoming questions and said, "I think, you need to tell us a little bit more than that Alice. After all, you have to agree that this is quiet a shocking bit of news. Even more so, considering it is coming from you. So why don't we all sit down and you can explain as to how all of this came about."
His voice may have been polite, but Harry could very clearly detect both the curiosity and the worry that was present in Carlisle's measured tone.
As if aware of his scrutiny, Carlisle then looked at Harry and said in as kind a voice as he could muster.
"After that, I'm sure Harry would be happy to tell us his side of the story as well."
Harry simply gave him a grateful nod and looked at Alice, who seemed to somehow be both thankful and scared.
Harry reached out and took her hand in his and gave it a little squeeze as if to convey, that no matter what, he would be there for her.
Alice noticed this and gave him a warm smile and then led him over to a sofa.
After they all had sat down, Alice introduced the others almost absent-mindedly. He politely nodded to each and everyone of them, while almost all of them returned his nod, he couldn't help but notice that Jasper did so only to maintain a sense of civility.
It almost looked as if Jasper thought Harry had personally offended him somehow.
Harry put that thought at the back of his head as Alice started explaining everything from the time she got her vision to the moment Harry had come knocking at their door.
It took a while, but not one of them so much as twitched, let alone react.
But then again, what with them being Vampires, it was only expected, thought Harry.
And when the reaction did come, it came from the most unlikeliest of places.
"Oh, Alice", said Esme in a fond exasperated tone, he had so often heard from Andi when according to her, he did something particularly noble but stupid nonetheless.
That seemed to make Alice chuckle ruefully, before she turned to him and started speaking again.
She told him all about her. Of her birth in Mississippi, a little over a century ago.
About how she got turned during her time at the Asylum, where she was committed to by her father, because he thought she was crazy owing to her clairvoyant abilities.
How she had met Jasper, a couple of decades later due to her vision telling her about him.
That made Harry look towards Jasper, who was still glowering silently at Harry.
At least now, his reaction makes sense to me, thought Harry.
She then told him about how the two of them eventually found their way to joining Carlisle and of their life from that point on.
And as she finished speaking, she looked at him with a sense of vulnerability, an expectation almost.
As if her telling him about all of this would lead to him walking out on her.
But before she could say anything, he simply reached out and put a finger against her lips as if to silence her and said.
"Not yet luv. Before you tell me anything further about yourself and them, you need to first hear what I have to tell you. More specifically, you need to know all about me."
"Because, if after all of that, you still want me in your life, then great, I am all ears for everything you have to tell me."
"But, if there's even a chance that you feel it would be too much of a hassle, I would rather not get involved any further in your life and call it quits right here and now."
All the while he was speaking, he looked at no one else but Alice and while it looked like she had wanted to interrupt him as couple of times, at the end, she merely nodded, as if she had resigned herself to that course of action.
Then he turned to address everyone in the room and said, "I guess it's time for my side of the story."
And with that Harry Potter, for the first time in his life, well and truly opened up and spoke about the entirety of his life.
He told them about his family, their murders at the hands of Voldemort because of the prophecy and subsequent survival.
He told them about his time at the Dursleys and of his time at Hogwarts.
He also told them about his fame as the Boy Who Lived and all the baggage that came with it.
He told them about the war and his life thereafter and his professional engagements.
He also wanted to tell them about his mantle as the not so mythical Master of Death, but for some reason he got this feeling that do so now would not be a good time for it.
So as he finished his story, he merely looked at everyone.
He honestly wanted to laugh when he saw their expression.
Who would have thought, that the life story of Harry Potter would leave even a room full of vampires shell shocked.
And then as if the trance was broken, came the first reaction.
"Like what the actual fuck?"
It was Rosalie and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
But instead of saying something, he merely pulled out the elder wand, gave an oath signifying the truth of all that he had told them about and as the magic of the oath flashed out signifying it taking effect, he ended the demonstration by turning the tea-table into a miniature kitten, before turning it back into a tea-table.
"And there you have proof, that everything that I have told you over the last few hours, is nothing but the truth."
It was Carlisle this time who first reacted.
"You have to agree, how utterly unbelievable and unrealistic it all sounds like Harry. I mean a world full of wizards and witches, hidden in plain sight. A school of magic where you more or less ended up facing one or more life threatening monsters, year after year. And not to mention the whole prophecy and the war with Voldemort. Harry, I'm a Vampire who has witnessed everything that has happened in this world for more than 350 years and yet the story you told me, wants me to get you checked out by a psychiatrist. I don't see any way in which anyone could come out of this experience, sane and functional, yet here you sit."
Harry merely gave him a tired smile and said, "Who said I came out of it sane?"
Before he took a breath and looked away as if looking at something only he could see and spoke, "You have no idea, what a mess I was those first few years. I knew we had won the war. But in reality, every single one of us who had survived, had lost something. Some lost family. Some lost a bit of themselves. For the longest time that first year, I couldn't stand to hear any sudden movements. I almost ended up cursing Hermione and Ron a few times because they came upon me unannounced."
"But it was not all gloom. I needed a reason to make something of my life. Teddy became that. I knew Andy was there to look after him, but I swore to myself that I would be there for him every step of the way, while he grew up."
"Teddy's first words were "Da da" and it happened a few months after the war. I was afraid that Andy would resent that. Instead she told me that she couldn't be happier that Teddy had bonded with me to the point of wanting to address me."
"I told her that we should show Teddy, Remus and Dora's photograph so that he can know who his real parents are. But she vetoed that outright, saying that while nothing can change the fact that Remus and Dora were his parents, they chose me as Teddy's Godfather in the hope that if ever there came a scenario that the both of them were not available and Teddy needed a parental figure, I would step up into that role. And that while she agreed that Teddy should be told about his parents eventually, for now she wanted me to be the parental presence that Teddy could lean on."
"So in the process of creating a normalcy that Teddy could grow up in, I too find my solace and peace."
Harry then turned to look at them all and said, "And that brings me nicely to the next part of the story."
He then told them about how Hermione had more or less forced him to go on a vacation, which led him to meeting Alice.
He told them about how as a measure of safety, he had scanned Alice's surface thoughts and realised that she was in fact a vampire, but somehow couldn't detect anything malevolent about her, so he decided to throw caution to the wind and explore that feeling he got the moment he had laid eyes on her.
And then he looked at Alice and gave her a goofy grin before saying, "Now normally, I find the idea of being attracted to someone as hard as stone, about as appealing as you'd likely find sticking your pickle in a blast furnace."
"No offence" he added as an afterthought while looking at both Rosalie and Esme, both of whom merely nodded in response.
"But something about Alice, drew me in. And to honest, I was sick and tired of living my life with restraint. So for once in my life, I decided to be selfish and seek out that feeling of fulfilment that I got when I was with Alice."
"In fact, the day after our wedding, I was intending to sit Alice down and tell her all of this, so that I could make her a part of my life. But before I could do that, Hermione called me and told me about Andy and while I still wanted to ask Alice to come with me, by the time I freshened up came looking for her, she had already left."
Here, Harry looked at Alice and said, "A part of me was furious. I felt betrayed. She didn't leave a note. She didn't even leave a way for me to get in touch with her. I wanted to scream. But the saner part of my mind told me that there would be time to sort it all out later. Andy took precedence right now. As did Teddy."
"So I went back to England and despite the best efforts of the healers, Andy couldn't be saved. I wanted to shut everyone out and cry. Andy was that one adult in my life who gave a damn about Harry. She didn't give two shits about my titles or fame. For all intents and purposes, Andromeda Tonks was the last parental I had in my life."
Here, Harry, unashamedly wiped away the tears that had escaped while he talked about losing Andy.
He then took a deep breath and continued.
"But again, the saner part of my mind told me that Teddy needed me now more than ever. How do you tell an almost 6 year old child that the one constant presence of his life was gone forever? So with Hermione and Luna's help I planned Andy's funeral while also gaining Teddy's guardianship formally. One of the few times I was thankful that I was Harry Potter and all the fame that came with it."
"And then after all the hubbub was over, I sat down with Hermione over tea one day and told her about meeting Alice and our marriage."
"As you can imagine, that didn't go well with her. I don't know if it was her pregnancy that made her that violent or she genuinely was that ticked off by this whole affair, that had I been any less capable with a wand, I would have been hospitalised myself."
And then he chuckled and looked at Alice fondly and said, "But bless her heart, the moment she had calmed down, she asked me that if I was truly happy with the marriage and when I told her that I was, she simply just hugged me and asked me to get off my ass and do everything in my power to bring my wife home."
"So I spent the next few days trying to find anything about Alice based on what I remembered from her telling me, which involved talking to my friends and contacts at the MACUSA, the American magical government, who ended up pointing me towards a local PI, who eventually found this address, which led me to here and today."
"And that's my side of the story."
Harry then looked at Alice dead seriously and said, "Make no mistake, luv. I very much want this marriage to work. But it has to be a two way relationship. You know everything there is to know about my life and my responsibilities. I understand that you had a life before you met me, so it won't be easy for you. But if you don't want to be with me, tell me now and I will make sure that it will be as if I never existed and you can carry on with your life. It is a big decision Alice. Take your time. Take the night in fact. Talk to your family and let me know your decision tomorrow."
And before she could say anything, he simply put up his hand and said, "I know a thing or two about having your life ripped away without any choice Alice. I wouldn't do that to anyone, let alone you. So take the night and think it over and talk it out. I will be back in the morning. If you want more time, let me know. I'm staying at The Benson in Portland. I'll wait for your call."
And with that he got up and gave her a tired but honest smile and was about to walk away when Carlisle's voice stopped him.
"Harry, you don't have to do that. We have more than enough room at the house here. You are welcome to stay the night."
Harry, merely give him a polite smile but shook his head while saying, "I don't think that's a good idea Carlisle. Though I thank you for your hospitality, I will have to decline it. You need this time as a family. It will change not only Alices' life but yours as well. So please, talk it out as a family. Everyone, it was a pleasure meeting you all, although I would have preferred that we met in better circumstances. Nevertheless it was in fact a pleasure. Good night everyone."
And with that Harry Potter walked out of the Cullen's house and moments later, he was on his way back to the hotel, wondering if this was going to be his last night as a married man.
Harry knew he had taken a big gamble today, when he had told them all about himself.
He knew that the technically it could end up back-firing on him as there was a very realistic chance that Alice would want nothing to do with him, considering the amount of crazy things that happened in his life and based on what he could remember and understand of Alice and her clan, anonymity and leading a low-key life was pivotal to their survival.
And that is why, Harry had also been proactive enough to place a subtle charm on all the Cullens to ensure that they wouldn't end up telling anyone else about him. If all went well, he would remove the charm. But if things went south, well, he was going to have to obliviate the lot of them anyway.
Harry knew that he was being paranoid about it, but whether he was in love or not, the secret of wizarding world's existence was much bigger than his own individual life and that above all else, he had to protect the statute of secrecy.
So Harry resigned and mentally prepared himself for a sleepless night of uncertain anxiety and what if scenarios, hoping that one way or another, this would all be sorted out come tomorrow morning.
- END -